Disposable garments are generally well known in the art and have become an important and essentially indispensable sanitary protection item, most particularly in the field of infant and child care where disposable diapers provide for the absorption and containment of urine and other body exudates. Present commercially available disposable diapers are generally unitary, preshaped and prefolded, and comprised of a liquid pervious bodyside liner, a fluid impervious backing sheet with an absorbent material disposed therebetween. These presently available disposable diapers have met a particular need and have become ever increasingly popular. However, even though the presently available disposable diapers are efficient and effective, they have several drawbacks that have been identified by mothers of infants wearing the diapers. Although the presently available diapers have elasticized leg openings which provide a better fit and enhanced containment of fluid exudates, they have not been entirely successful in stopping leakage from explosive liquified bowel movements and rapid discharges of urine.
Another drawback associated with presently commercially available disposable diapers is skin irritation caused by urine, feces or moisture trapped next to the skin. The feces, if remaining next to the skin, can smear causing problems in cleanup.
The attempts to solve these drawbacks associated with the present commercially available disposable diapers have extended over several years and include several different concepts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,547 to Hernandez discloses a disposable diaper with a waterproof back sheet, a hydrophobic sheet, and an absorbent pad sandwiched between the back sheet and the face sheet. The diaper is folded to define a box pleated configuration having a central panel, inwardly extending panels and outwardly extending panels with the inner edges of the inwardly extending panels being in abutting relationship. Sealing strips of waterproof material separate from the back sheet are secured on the face sheet. The sealing strips are formed by folding an excess width of the back sheet over the face sheet forming side flap portions, and then cutting the side flap portions free from the back sheet. The sealing strips may be folded inwardly toward the center of the diaper to form fluid catching seals.
A similar concept is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,143 to De Jonckheere which discloses a disposable diaper for a baby with at least one sheet of flexible liquid impermeable material comprising two longitudinal edges intended t define a waist portion and an absorbent pad superimposed on a central region of the liquid impermeable sheet. The diaper is characterized, in that it comprises, respectively in the immediate vicinity of each of the longitudinal edges, on either side of the pad, a flexible longitudinal sheath inside which a flexible longitudinal tie is able to slide and in that each sheath comprises means for gaining access to the corresponding flexible tie in order to enable the latter to be gripped manually and to be tensioned at will in order to reduce the apparent length of the longitudinal edges, to press the latter at will around the baby's legs and to give the disposable diaper the shape of a trough between the legs.
Another concept is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,148 to Beckestrom which discloses a protector against incontinence comprising an oblong absorbent body which is fixed to a bottom liquid-tight layer extending outside the absorbent body. The lateral edge portions of the layer are folded in over the absorbent body and form side flaps, the distance between the edges thereof being less than the width of the absorbent body at its mid section. The side flaps are fixed at their ends to the bottom layer. An elastic line, arranged at the edge of each side flap, is designed to contract itself and thereby the edges of the side flaps. When the protector is put on, the edges of the side flaps come into elastic sealing contact in the thigh crease of the crotch.
However, these attempts to solve one problem have resulted in the emergence of other problems. For example, the elasticized flaps can cause the waterproof material of the flaps to provide a tight seal at the thigh crease because the tensioned elastic presses the easily deformable flaps into close contact with the skin. The waterproof material of the flaps can then cause urine or moisture and even liquid fece material to collect next to the skin and cause skin irritation.
The present application teaches an improved disposable garment which provides fluid pervious flaps to enhance the containment and absorption of urine and other fluid exudates as well as solid exudates. The flaps, made up of water pervious material, slows the sideways flow of fluidic material and stops essentially all the sideways flow of solid material. Furthermore, the flaps enhance skin dryness by causing at least one extra layer of material to be disposed between the absorbent area of the diaper and the skin of the wearer. This, in addition to having fecal material separated from the skin by at least one layer of flap material, decreases the potential of skin irritation.